Climate change is perhaps one of the most terrifying threats to human existence in our times. Several governments across the world have adopted policies that are geared towards mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. The Paris climate agreement is expected to singularly address a majority of the concerns relating to adverse climate change. However, it is becoming more and more apparent by the day, that despite all the efforts that governments and policy makers take in this direction, it eventually comes down to how individuals like you and me adapt to the changing circumstances and what action we as individuals take towards addressing some of these concerns.

Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions is one of the primary sources of global warming and climate change. GhG emissions come from a variety of sources, including burning of fossil fuels (like coal, petrol, diesel etc.), industrial activity, animal agriculture and so on. Several studies show that animal agriculture contributes ~ 20% of the GhG emissions, leading to accelerating adverse climate change.

Fortunately for the sake of the planet, people are increasingly turning to plant-based diets for one or the other reasons. While quite a lot of us do it to avoid cruelty towards animals and for the sake of improving our own health, some others do it as they are more informed about the effects of animal agriculture on the planet’s climate. Thus, this trend has both a direct and an indirect impact on how we treat Mother Earth.

Yoga4ClimateChange recently conducted an online survey to understand some of the behavioral changes related to switching to a plant-based diet/vegan lifestyle. One of the main purposes of this study was to gauge whether people who have turned vegan have increased levels of motivation to take positive climate action in other areas of their lives and if so, what positive actions they are considering on taking in the near future.From a survey of over 550 individuals, mostly vegans from more than 40 countries (see map below for where respondents were from), we have some very interesting results!

Among those surveyed, more than 87% of pollsters were strictly vegan, more than two-thirds of them being vegan for more than a year.

Almost 79% of the participants were of the opinion that their turning vegan is helping fight climate change! An overwhelming 86.5% of people said they were motivated to take additional positive climate action to assist with protecting our planet.

There were some very interesting responses to the question on the survey regarding what positive climate action do they intend to take in the next month. While some of the interesting individual responses will be posted on the List Your Climate Action page soon, a word-cloud of the popular words used by them is provided here. Most of the participants reported that they would be keen reduce the use of plastic to the largest extent possible.

What’s more – more than 93% of the people who had turned to plant based diets also felt better about themselves compared to earlier, which shows the positive influence that this single lifestyle change brings about in individuals.

More than 65% of the respondents thought that there might be more to being vegan (for eg. A spiritual dimension) than just protecting animals.

In summary, this survey highlights some of the important aspects related to adopting a plant-based diet/vegan lifestyle and its influence on taking positive climate action. We at Yoga4ClimateChange are focused on promoting positive, pro-active dialogue between the conscious (Yogi/Vegan) and the scientific (climate science) communities and work towards bringing them closer to each other for everybody’s benefit.

Yoga4ClimateChange (Y4CC) thanks all the survey respondents! If you have any queries regarding the survey or the work we do at Y4CC, please write to us at sree@yoga4climatechange.org. Like us on Facebook and follow on Twitter to get further updates!

This is the first question that comes to anyone’s mind! Does Yoga really help us in the current scenario, when the whole globe is experiencing extreme weather patterns due to man’s attitude’s towards nature?

Most of us “Yogis” know that Yoga (in its traditional Ashtanga sense) has a higher purpose than just our individual physical, mental and spiritual well-being, right? What is that higher purpose? Seers say that the higher purpose is about working together towards Societal Wellbeing and Building Communal Harmony in the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (in Sanskrit, meaning, All World Is A Family).

Most of us Climate Science enthusiasts/activists/scientists know that despite all the efforts of our politicians (both for and against!!) and climate scientists, it is the contributions of conscious individuals like you and me that is going to WIN this humongous battle against adverse climate change for all of us!

However, unfortunately, not many platforms exist where the Conscious Yogis get to interact and sincerely work together with the Climate Warriors. Well, that is where Yoga4ClimateChange comes in!

Y4CC works at the cusp of these two huge communities and towards blurring the boundaries between them. Y4CC provides a common platform for these two communities to engage with each other proactively and to promote:

cross-pollination of ideas and thoughts between the two communities

lateral thinking, to come up with innovative solutions to complex, multi-dimensional problems

build a sense of community of sharing and caring for each other and for the planet

Considering getting a new mattress? What do you do with your old mattress? Our partners at Tuck have a few great suggestions! Read on..

Getting a new mattress is exciting, but don’t forget that you’ll need to make arrangements to dispose of your old mattress, ideally in an eco-friendly way. Often, you can have your old mattress hauled away to the dump for a fee, but that’s not the most environmentally conscious option.
More than 50,000 mattresses go to landfills each day, and mattresses may be dumped illegally as well, creating waste. But most of the materials in each mattress can be reused even when they’re no longer useful for sleep.

When you recycle or reuse your mattress, you reduce the impact your mattress has on the environment and climate change. Recycling or reusing conserves steel, foam, wood, and other materials used to create new products. And keeping your mattress out of the waste stream reduces the use of incinerators and landfills.

How You Can Divert Your Mattress from the Landfill

Choose a mattress with natural materials. Start with a mattress that offers the most environmentally friendly materials and biodegradability. Typically, latex mattresses offer the most natural materials, as latex comes from the sap of the rubber tree, a renewable resource. However, the most natural latex you can have in foam is 95 percent and latex mattresses go through a manufacturing process that may include plasticizers, petrochemicals, and other synthetic materials. It’s a good idea to research all of the materials and processes used to create the mattress to make sure you’re purchasing a truly natural product. When your latex mattress is worn out, the foam and other materials can be reused.

Donate your old mattress. If your old mattress still has usable life left in it, consider donating it to an organization that accepts used mattresses. The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, furniture banks, homeless shelters, women and family shelters, and locally owned thrift stores may accept them. However, you should always call before bringing a mattress in for donation, as not all organizations and locations will accept used mattresses.

Reuse mattress materials. If you’re handy, you can break down your old mattress and find a use for some of the materials. Innerspring mattresses contain several pounds of steel springs, which can be sold for scrap or used for crafts. Foam can be shredded for pet bedding, and fabric can be used for pet bedding as well. Wood can be used for firewood or mulch. Nails and screws can be reused.

Recycle mattress materials. Up to 90 percent of each mattress can be recycled or repurposed. A recycling center can break down your mattress into usable materials. However, you will likely have to pay a recycling fee of $10 to $40, which varies by recycling center and whether you drop off or arrange a pickup of your mattress. In some states, mattress recycling fees are paid for when you purchase your mattress, so there is no additional fee when you drop off your mattress to be recycled at the end of its life.

Hope you will consider one of these options when you are ready to dispose off your mattresses! Do get in touch with Tuck for more info.